Changing Behavior Using the Collaborative Problem Solving^® Approach

Disruptive students need problem-solving skills, not punishment.

Traditional school discipline is ineffective and often damaging, relying heavily on punishments and motivational procedures aimed at giving students the incentive to behave better. There is a better way.

Dr. J. Stuart Ablon and his co-author Dr. Alisha Pollastri have been working with schools throughout the world to refine the Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) approach, creating a step-by-step program for educators based on the recognition—from research in neuroscience—that challenging classroom behaviors are due to a deficit of skill, not will. This book provides everything needed to implement the program, including reproducible assessment tools to pinpoint skill deficits in areas like frustration tolerance and flexibility that are at the root of students’ challenging behaviors.

Whether you are a teacher, counselor, coach, or administrator, the CPS approach to school discipline will provide you with a new mindset, an assessment process, and an effective intervention plan for each of your challenging students. You will walk away with strategies that are immediately actionable with the students in your life.
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Authors Dr. J. Stuart Ablon and Dr. Alisha Pollastri hosted a three-part book club to discuss The School Discipline Fix.

• Session 1: Chapters 1-5, Rethinking Challenging Behaviors
• Session 2: Chapters 6-11, Using Collaborative Problem Solving in Schools
• Session 3: Chapters 12-15, Scaling & Sustaining the Shift in Discipline School-wide

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Quick Reference Guide: Collaborative Problem Solving with Students
The easy-to-follow guide, published by Published by Norton Professional Books, is an essential tool for tackling challenging student behavior effectively, collaboratively, and compassionately. This 8.5" x 11" multi-panel guide is laminated for extra durability and 3-hole-punched for binder storage.
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Free Discussion Guide
This discussion guide for The School Discipline Fix: Changing Behavior Using the Collaborative Problem Solving Approach is designed as a professional learning resource and can be used to facilitate a professional book study or to create a roadmap for schoolwide change.
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"The intervention approach described here provides a much-needed roadmap through what is often rough terrain for educators: the struggle to understand and positively impact the lives of kids with challenging behaviors. Its implementation, so clearly set out in these pages, holds hope for the future of every child."
Jenifer Aldrich, MEd, Principal, West Windsor, VT

"Finally, the ultimate guide to CPS for schools! This book provides a framework, language, and tools for understanding and supporting all students with compassion and humanity, especially those who challenge us. This new mindset and simple assessment process upset traditional notions about why some students behave in a challenging way and leads to intervention that really works!"

Tricia Bailey Sauvé, MEd, Behavior/Autism Teacher/Consultant

"At a time when safety and a sense of connection are paramount to students in our schools, Dr. Ablon and Dr. Pollastri offer us an approach that supports both students who act out and the teachers who teach them. This book provides real-life examples of CPS in action, ensuring all school staff members—teachers, counselors, and administrators—are equipped to meet the needs of all students."

—Rebecca McMurdie, MEd, Principal
KIPP Washington Heights Elementary School, NYC